Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-13
IRRIGATING FARMING.
Its Advantage4 Over ANY Other
Method.


Its Advantage4 Over Any Othe,
Method.
We speak from a good deal of exam
ination of the subject last year ano
this in Western Texas, Arizona, South
ern California, New Mexico, Colorado
Utah, etc. "Seeing is believing" i
the seeing is unbiased and intelligent
and especially if against ones pre-
conceived notions or opinions. The
iarmer who has q soil containing an
abundance of all the needed elements
in a proper state of fineness, can moi
but deem himself happy if he has al
ways ready at hand the means Of
readily and cheaply supplying all the
water needed by his soil and growing
crops, just when and in just such
quantities as are needed. Happier
still may he be if, besides fearing nc
drought, he has no rainfall to in
terrupt his labors or to injure his
growing or harvested crops. And
happier still may be he who knows
that he need have few if any "ofi
years." and knows that the water
he admits to his fields at will, is
freighted with rich fertilizing ele-
ments, usually far more valuable to
the growing crop than any he can
purchase and apply at costly rate
cost that makes serious inroads upon
the profits OF majority of farmers
cultivating the worn-out or deteror-
ated soils, in the older states, year by
year. Fertilizers are already often
needed for the most profitable culture
on many farms in Iowa, Minnesota,
Eastern Kansas and Nebraska, and in
all states east of those named.
NO "FANCY SKETCH"
The above are no imaginative state
ments, but are based upon actual OBJ
servations-upon study OF the soils,
their conditions and wants, east and
west, during long series of years,
and upon q firm scientific foundation
so much SO that we now unhesitat-
ingly assert that if allowed to-day to
make a choice of farm for our own
future tillage, among the best of those
only cultivable by irrigation, we
should certainly choose the latter.
This is with the understanding that
railways have now made such regions
readily accessible to markets-mar-
kets as yet better than those in the
east; and that there is already so
large class of intelligent, moral peo-
pie settled in these regions and fast
coming into them, as to make society
as desirable as in the older states.
A FEW SCIENTIFIC FACTS.
In addition to what is stated above,
let us consider these points: 1st, All
soils are formed from comminuted
rocks, with little addition of organic
matter. I'd, Crops-all plants and
trees-get most of their materials for
growth from the air through the
leaves. eve need not here discuss
the theory as to the derivation of some
of the nitrogen or other gasses
through the sap). 3rd, A ton of
earth, carefully weighed and yielding
a ton of clover or other crop, will
weigh more after the cropping
than before, even though so COW
cred that only pure water is
admitted. 4th, All crops and plants
need soil in such a condition
that roots can penetrate it. These
roots act as braces to hold the upright
stem-bearing leaves, which, through
their myriads of mouths, absorb food
from the air. The roots also take up
from the soil the moisture, which, as
sap, circulates through the stems, re-
ceiving the food gathered from the
leaves, carries and deposits it where
needed for growth or repairs, just as
our blood carries the dissolved food
particles and deposits them all over
the body where need for growth or re-
pair, or for producing warmth. But,
as crops used for food need some
phosphates, iron, ETC., to build up the
framework (bones), and for other
purposes, the sap must collect these
needed mineral elements from the soil.
5th. Two most important mineral
constituents-the phosphates and
potash-are very poorly applied in
most old soils. They have been car
ried off in removed crops, in meat car
casses and dairy products grown from
the soil; and they have been washed
out of those lands subject to drenching
rains.
6TE-AND IMPORTANT.
In the mountain valleys of the
West, and on their slopes, where the
rainfall is very light at most, the fine
soils carried down upon and over
them, usually abound largely in all
the necessary Ingredients OF the most
fertile soils anywhere, and the more
valuable soluble elements are not and
have not been washed out by rains
running through them and off into
streams and rivers, then to the ocean.
7th. Equally Important.-The irri-
eating water conducted upon and into
these virgin soils carries into them
new, fresh mineral elements from the
mountains, and almost always some
organic materials gathered from the
decaying growths upon the sides Of
the valleys and gulches they have
flown through.
Sth. The moisture drawn from the
atmosphere by the cold mountain
submits, thus preventing the rain
fall elsewhere, and causing ster.
ility, is deposited and conserved
upon the higher points as snow
until the crop growing season, when
the spring and summer suns dissolve
it, and it flows down to these lower
regions that have thus been deprived
of their due share of the air moisture
9th. The skill of man has now
learned to catch these descending
streams, confine them in reservoirs
conduct them in canals and bitches
and spread them upon the cultivated
fields, not on the unused ones, and
thus supply the water, not in uncer